State to show Kodiak residents options for replacing two cracked bridges

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will show Kodiak residents draft options Nov. 18 for replacing the Sargent Creek and Russian River bridges, two cracked spans on Rezanof Drive that are the only road link between Kodiak and the area beyond Womens Bay.

State inspectors have found cracks in both bridges' concrete girders, and both are narrower than the road on either side, according to the study's website, which calls them structurally deficient. The bridges are the only access to the area for local businesses and a neighborhood of about 800 residents, and losing them would limit emergency services, according to a draft statement of what the project needs to fix, released last year.

The study is also looking at flooding upstream. Local residents report that roads and buildings in the area flood multiple times a year, the draft says, and the community has raised concerns about repeated flooding in the Bells Flats and Russian Creek subdivisions and on Sargent Creek Road, their only road in and out. Gravel piling up behind the bridges has forced the creek and river to enter them at an angle, which may be adding to the flooding.

"That road flooded and flooded hard this week," Borough Manager Aimee Williams told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly on June 4, describing Sargent Creek Road. She said it was underwater for almost two days.

The department decided that rehabilitating the bridges isn't the preferred option, in part because that wouldn't make them wider or let more water flow under them, the draft says. Designing and building replacements could take three to four years. In the meantime, the state transportation plan lists temporary repairs to the Sargent Creek Bridge between 2028 and 2030.

The bridges have no walkways. The area is used for fishing and wildlife viewing and has one dedicated parking area. Vehicles often park along the road, leaving people walking at its edge, which the draft calls "especially a problem with bears present." A proposed path between Kodiak and Bells Flats would widen the bridges' shoulders for pedestrians.

The department and the Kodiak Island Borough launched the study together, and the borough received a $1.288 million federal Bridge Investment Program award for it. The open house runs from 4:30 to 7:30 pm at the Womens Bay Fire Station, and comments are due Jan. 1, 2027.